RCI Research is part of Defence Medical Services (DMS).
RCI Research comprises nine specialized areas:
- Anesthesia and critical care
- Emergency medicine
- General practice
- Mental health
- Medicine
- Nursing
- Rehabilitation
- Surgery and trauma
- Trauma and orthopaedics
The Defence Medical Research Strategy 2026-31 outlines six priority research areas:
- Ensuring a deployable, mission-ready workforce
- Optimizing mental health support
- Addressing environmental and occupational health risks
- Preventing and managing infectious and evolving threats
- Combating complex and emerging operational challenges
- Advancing Combat Casualty Care through innovative methodologies
RCI Research collaborates with academic institutions and industry partners to fund and execute research initiatives.
RCI Research teams
Anesthesia and critical care
Focuses on improving outcomes for critically ill or injured military personnel through enhanced diagnostic and therapeutic approaches.
Research priorities include:
- Understanding shock mechanisms and tissue perfusion to develop targeted treatments
- Adapting point-of-care diagnostics for deployment environments
- Leveraging physiological data for injury mechanism insights and treatment optimization
Emergency medicine
Dedicated to advancing operational emergency care through evidence-based research and education.
Key research areas include:
- Large-scale combat operations (LSCO)
- Resuscitation techniques
- Trauma pathophysiology
- CBRN (chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear) medicine
- Evacuation and prolonged care strategies
- Data analytics for clinical decision-making
- Enhancing the effectiveness of emergency response teams
General practice
Aims to improve health outcomes and experiences for UK Service Personnel through research, training, and educational programs.
Current priorities involve:
- Building an evidence base for educational tools to enhance GP capabilities
- Addressing gender disparities in military research
- Analyzing clinician behaviors and decision-making processes
- Developing interventions for lifestyle behavior change
Mental health
Serves as the primary channel for military mental health research within the UK Armed Forces.
Recent collaboration with King’s College London has informed key initiatives.
Research focuses include:
- Providing guidance to the Surgeon General on global military mental health trends
- Developing and evaluating mental health support interventions
- Conducting Operational Mental Health Needs Assessments
Medicine
Enhances the diagnosis, treatment, and prevention of health issues among military personnel via research, innovation, and education.
Key priorities include:
- Infectious diseases and tropical medicine
- Environmental medicine (heat, cold, altitude)
- Cardiovascular healthcare in military contexts
- Human performance medicine
- CBRN-related health risks
- Transfusion medicine research
Nursing
Supports nurses and healthcare professionals through leadership, mentorship, and clinical education to improve patient care.
Current priorities are:
- Ethical considerations in operational healthcare
- Building resilience and wellbeing
- Adapting practice to dynamic operational settings
- Optimizing patient care in challenging environments
Rehabilitation
Advances rehabilitation science to maximize operational readiness of injured personnel.
Research priorities include:
- Establishing a centralized hub for UK Defence rehabilitation research
- Delivering high-quality, evidence-based rehabilitation programs
- Improving trauma rehabilitation outcomes
- Preventing and managing musculoskeletal injuries
Surgery and trauma
Leads in military surgical research to save lives and restore health through innovation.
Key research areas include:
- Trauma physiology
- General and vascular surgery
- Humanitarian and global surgery
- Surgical informatics
- Surgical education
- Oral and maxillofacial surgery
- Plastic surgery
- Acoustic trauma management
Trauma and orthopaedics
Focuses on improving outcomes for limb injuries through research and technological innovation.
Key priorities include:
- Understanding and mitigating blast and ballistic injuries
- Developing advanced skeletal fixation techniques
- Reducing hemorrhage from extremity and pelvic trauma
- Enhancing bone healing processes
- Preventing musculoskeletal injuries from occupational exposure
